Rifle target



P. FEDROWICH RIFLE TARGET Sept. 11, 1951 Filed Oct. 6, 1949 IN V EN TOR:

\ ATTORNEY.

w W m M F r e I e 2 Patented Sept. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RIFLE TARGET Peter Fedrowich, Detroit, Mich. Application October 6, 1949, Serial No. 119,964

My improvement pertains to targets especially adapted for use with air rifles and air pistols, although the target is not restricted for use with air guns alone. The novelty of my improvement lies in the fact that the target includes a selffeeding strip of glass which is broken off bit by bit by pellets or missiles from the rifle or pistol, as the case may be, as said missiles strike the lower portion of the glass strip extending into a drum which. forms a part of the target. The resulting tinkle of glass, magnified by a drum, gives audible proof of good marksmanship, and materially adds to the enjoyment of the target practice. Another object of my invention is to provide a target which, having the appeal of a novelty, will be simple in construction and cheap in cost. I

I shall now describe my improvement with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a perspective view of my target assembly;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View thereof;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. l is a sectional view on line 48-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 3.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The target as made by me includes a few elements combined into a new and useful assembly. Thus, the resulting combination includes a mounting board It which, in its normal position, may be suspended by an eyelet ll. Mounted on the board, approximately midway its length, is a cylindrical hollow drum I2 of a diameter exceeding the width of board It]. The drum has a solid back wall l3 perforated for application of screws 14, by means of which the drum is secured to the board. Another aperture below the center of the back wall serves for reception of an upwardly-turned hook IS, the latter being provided with a collar I? made of wood, plastic, or some other relatively soft material. The shank of the hook is screwed through said opening I5 into the board Ill.

The front wall of the drum is provided with a circular opening l3, while the cylindrical wall IQ of said drum has a narrow opening at the top, the opening forming a slot extending parallel to the front surface of board I0. Secured to the board above the drum and partly entering the drum through said slot 20 is a trough-shaped member 2| formed with flanges 22, which, by means of nails 23, are secured to board Ill. The member thus secured forms a vertical chute for reception of a strip of glass 24. The strip, in-

5 Claims. (01. 273-102) I serted into the chute,

- relation to. each other, as shown in Fig. 3.

means of a pin is alined centrally within said chute by means of resilient low-tension leaf springs 25. The springs are arranged in opposed For best efficiency, two pairs of such springs are used, one pair being within the upper portion of. the chute. and the other pair, marked. 2.5a being disposed within the lower portion of the chute. The springs are secured at one end to the sides 26 of said chute by means of bolts 27. Another aperture in the drum is made in the lower portion of the cylindrical wall [9 of the drum at 23, said aperture serving as an outlet from the drum. Suspended directly below said aperture 28, by

29, is an open-topped. container 3i].

Now I shall describe the operation of my target assembly, which I shall briefly designate asa target. The target is suspended by means of the eyelet I I, at the top of board l0, upon a wall, post, or some other supporting device. A narrow strip of glass is inserted into the chute, the glass being gripped at the sides by resilient leaf springs 25 and 25a. The lower part of the strip of glass will rest on the collar H on hook I6 so that a small length of the glass strip will be visible through the front opening of the drum when the target is viewed from the front. When the bottom portion of the glass strip is struck by the pellet from an air gun, a small length of the glass strip at the bottom thereof will be shattered, whereupon the strip of glass, by its weight, will slide down until it rests upon the collar I! on hook [6. Thus, another length of the glass strip will be automatically exposed for a shot from a gun. The broken glass will, naturally, fall down, by gravity, into the container 30 under the drum of the target. Obviously, for best results the strip of glass ought to be made thin to allow easy breakage thereof under the relatively small force of impact of an air gun pellet.

The drum described above is, preferably, made of metal. Therefore, pellets which miss the central opening in the front of the drum are likely to rebound from the outer surface of said drum. To prevent this, it is suggested that a disk made of cardboard, plastic, or wood be applied to the front surface of the drum. The disk, naturally, would be provided with an opening corresponding to that of the drum itself. Any suitable means could be used to support the disk in place, such means including screws, hooks, clips, or any other appliances.

It will be obvious that some changes may be made in the construction of my target without departing from the inventive principle disclosed herein.

What I, therefore, wish to claim is as follows:

1. A target assembly of the kind described, said assembly including a vertical board, a horizontally-disposed hollow drum mounted thereon, the axis of the drum being at right angle to the plane of the board, said drum having an open front, a slot at the top, and an outlet at the bottom, said slot and said outlet being alined vertically, a vertical chute mounted on top of the drum over the slot in said top, a narrow strip of a frangible material slidingly disposed within the chute, and a pin within the drum below the center thereof for support of said strip from below.

2. A target assembly of the kind described, said assembly including a hollow cylindrical drum in a horizontal position, the drum having an open front, a slot in the cylindrical wall of the drum at the top thereof, an outlet in said Wall at the bottom, a vertical chute above the drum and opening into the drum through said slot at the top of the said cylindrical wall, a narrow strip of glass slidingly disposed within the chute, and a pin within the drum below the center thereof to support a strip of glass from below.

3. A target assembly of the kind described, said assembly including a hollow cylindrical drum in a horizontal position, the drum having an open front, a slot in the cylindrical wall of the drum at the top thereof, an outlet in said wall at the bottom, a vertical chute above the drum and opening into the drum through said slot at the top of said cylindrical wall a narrow strip of glass adapted to a slide downwardly into said drum, and leaf springs within the chute in opposed relation to each other and adapted to bear yieldingly against the sides of the strip of glass to keep the glass in a vertical position.

4. In combination, a vertical mounting board, a cylindrical drum, including a cylindrical wall, a solid back wall mounted on the board, and a front wall provided with a central circular opening therein, said drum being provided with an inlet in said cylindrical wall at the top thereof and an outlet within said cylindrical wall at the bottom thereof, a flat vertical chute mounted on the board over the drum and extending at its lower portion into the drum through said inlet, a narrow strip of an easily frangible material disposed within the chute and adapted to slide downwardly by gravity into the drum, and a hook within the drum under the center thereof and directly under said inlet to support said strip.

5. In combination, a vertical mounting board, a cylindrical drum, including a cylindrical wall, a solid back wall mounted on the board, and a front wall provided with a central circular opening therein, said drum being provided with an inlet in said cylindrical wall at the top thereof and an outlet within said cylindrical wall at the bottom thereof, a fiat vertical chute mounted on the board over the drum and extending at its lower portion into the drum through said inlet, the chute being adapted to contain a narrow strip of an easily frangible material, leaf springs within the chute, said leaf springs being mounted on the inner sides of the chute and extending from opposite sides inwardly towards the center line thereof, and a hook within the drum under the center thereof and directly under said inlet to support said strip.

PETER FEDROWICH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,378,340 Fairchild May 17, 1921 1,723,826 Van Auken Aug. 6, 1929 1,825,292 Van Auken Sept. '29, 1931 1,970,676 Van Auken Aug. 21, 1934 

